Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter Paperback – April 22, 2017

Ask Powerful Questions by Will Wise and Chad Littlefield is an insightful and transformative book that, while originally written for an academic or professional setting, offers valuable tools for anyone looking to improve communication and connection. The audio version of this book is where it truly shines.Will Wise and Chad Littlefield, the co-founders of We and Me, Inc., bring the content to life with their engaging narration and thoughtful explanations. Their passion for fostering meaningful conversations is palpable, and they do an amazing job breaking down the concepts in a way that feels personal and relatable. Their conversational tone makes the content accessible and impactful, even for those outside academic circles.I highly recommend Ask Powerful Questions in its audiobook format. Whether you're a leader, educator, or simply someone who wants to connect more deeply with others, this is a must-listen!

This book was incredibly impactful. APQ is a one of only a few books that sit on my desk for frequent reference. Examples of good questions, sidebars with research, and an obsession with being genuine is what made this book so good. I have found myself changing the way I engage with those around me and the way I engage with strangers. I have a set of the We! Connect Cards on their way and look forward to using them. Thank you Will and Chad for your work in this space!The biggest takeaway: “On average, adults ask six-twelve questions per day.” It’s time to be more curious.

Ask Powerful Questions is a thoughtful, insightful, and very personal account from the author of his diverse experiences and lessons learned on his many (mis?)adventures climbing up the ‘powerful questions pyramid.’ He shares his hard-won wisdom through revealing personal stories of numerous attempts to establish genuine connections with others by mindfully practicing intention, rapport, openness, listening, and empathy. Along the way, he presents some familiar concepts in novel, imaginative ways to highlight useful distinctions. For example: How would you react if you witnessed a friend suddenly fall through the thin ice on a frozen lake in winter? This not-so-implausible scenario is used to discuss apathy, sympathy, and empathy; how they differ; and how they affect the dynamics and character of connecting with others.With earned humility and uncommon generosity, the author is quick to share his own plentiful failures. I’m sure they are there to remind readers of the importance of struggling well when dealing with their own beautiful mistakes. (Beautiful in their teaching value, that is.) Mistakes and missteps are inevitable, after all, when pursuing mastery.And let’s be clear, MASTERY is certainly what is being described here--as a journey, not a destination. But importantly, this is not mastery OVER others, but rather mastery WITH them (this is an evolved form of power that ‘servant leaders’ understand well and use to great effect), where EVERYONE is enriched and supported by deeper personal connections that can only be built on a foundation of genuine curiosity, meaningful conversations, and well-crafted questions.As a researcher, writer, and speaker on ‘conscious’ leadership and creative collaboration; I recognize the profound value of crafting conversations that matter. The deep and durable interpersonal connections that are formed from asking powerful questions are the necessary psychological/emotional scaffolding required by high-performing teams. Whether in ‘industrial making’ (e.g., agile software development teams) or ‘artful making’ (e.g., ensembles of performing artists), effective leadership/collaboration requires curiosity, connection, co-creation, character, culture, and community. ALL six of these essential pillars are built, bolstered, and expanded through the art (and many soulful rewards) of asking powerful (a.k.a., beautiful) questions.

The goal of this book is to teach readers to ask questions that will require the listener to think and respond with fresh and new answers. The book is organized to discuss intention, rapport, openness, listening and empathy. The base for good conversation is to understand the intention. The author uses excellent examples through out the book, including why intention is the base of all good communication, understanding intention allows one to solve and address the key issues not necessarily what the people will find easy to address with a simple or evasive answer. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it helpful. The introduction was a big long and wordy, but once the author got the meat of the matter it was well paced.Ali Julia review

I HIGHLY recommend this book --- have bought five more for Christmas presents and to loan to friends !Given what's going on in this country, I have found my heart-mind hardening to people whose beliefs and actions differ from mine. So when I was invited to Thanksgiving with a group of Trump supporters, I accepted as a spiritual growth opportunity. My first Zen teacher said, 'You can be right, or you can be free." I've been choosing 'right' over 'free' much of this year. Intolerance of intolerance is still intolerance. And my usual spiritual tools have not always been effective.Thankfully, Will Wise led a group I was in the week before Thanksgiving, and I immediately saw a way 'home' with his work. He gave me a key tag with "Listen to Win" on one side and "Listen to Understand" on the other, and I resolved to Listen to Understand in this situation.I bought this book and 'crammed' for Thanksgiving. I love that Will practices what he preaches and shares stories from his own life, and includes Traps and Tools for each section. Although we never got into 'politics,' if they had come up, rather remain silent, I was prepared to say, "We definitely have different beliefs in this situation" --- without judgment.Will's process for asking powerful questions include Intention, Rapport, Openness, Listening and Empathy. I used them all, and the boundaries around my heart dissolved to reveal the Love within.

I thought this author gave some useful information but this book could have been rented….